FLW AND TBF ExTEND PARTNERSHIP
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FLW TO DEBUT 24-EVENT HIGH SCHOOL FISHING OPEN SERIES
teams in each State Championship, Challenge and Open will
advance directly to the High School Fishing National
Championship. Both members of the High School Fishing
national champion team will receive a $5,000 college schol-
arship to the school of his or her choice.
All participants must be Student Angler Federation
(SAF) members to participate. SAF
membership includes TBF and FLW
membership plus a digital subscription
to FLW Bass Fishing magazine, online
training courses and more.
SAF members never pay an entry fee
to participate in FLW or TBF High School
Fishing tournaments, and all clubs are
covered by SAF insurance, which means
there is no added expense for any
schools with sanctioned High School
Fishing clubs.
No changes will be made to the
High School Fishing opportunities will expand dramatically under the continuing partnership between
existing program for adult TBF anglers.
FLW and The Bass Federation.
TBF members will also continue to
receive priority entry into all FLW tournaments.
As part of the extended partnership, FLW will undertake
“TBF is proud to partner with FLW in providing the
the largest expansion of the co-managed High School
nation’s most extensive network of grassroots fishing
Fishing program since launching the state championship
opportunities from our TBF junior program through high
series of High School Fishing events in partnership with
school and college to the TBF National Semi-Finals for
TBF in 2011.
adult anglers and ultimately our ‘Living the Dream’ pack-
The expansion includes facilitating a new series of 24
age on the FLW Tour,” says TBF President Robert Cartlidge.
High School Fishing Open tournaments to complement
“No two organizations work more closely to provide more
the existing state championships and High School Fishing
fishing opportunities for more anglers nationwide than
World Finals coordinated by TBF.
FLW and TBF. We are proud of that tradition and what it
TBF will also debut two High School Fishing Challenge
means for future generations.”
events to meet growing demand from the more than
15,000 young anglers that partici-
pated in the program in 2016. All
told, students will now have 76 FLW
and TBF High School Fishing events
in which to compete in 2017.
“High School Fishing is the foun-
dation on which our sport will con-
tinue to grow,” says FLW President of
Operations Kathy Fennel. “With the
continued erosion of traditional
pathways into fishing, the industry is
taking note of High School Fishing’s
recruitment, retention and reactiva-
tion potential. All it takes is one visit
to a High School Fishing tournament
to see that FLW and TBF have
tapped into something special that
unites generations in a way our
sport has never seen before.”
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Going forward, High School
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Fishing will operate on a school calen-
dar, with the National Championship
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being held in the summer in conjunc-
tion with the High School Fishing
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World Finals. The top 10 percent of
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